Tag: review

When youre making the decision to ditch lawyers in your life, youre still going to need assistance when it comes to filling out legal documents orfiling paperworkin court. Luckily, there are several websites offering you the help you need to fill out legal paperwork and conduct a variety of different legal procedures. At the top of the heap is LegalZoom and Nolo. Deciding between the two in your own rite could take a series of trial and error to decide which one comes out on top. Instead, you can take a look at this honest review to see which of the two sites allows you to get everything you need without having to pay the sometimes exorbitant fees a lawyer will charge you. Use this review to finally get the help you need quickly and affordably.

Legal documents are not exactly easy to fill out. This is partially because it was a lawyer who originally wrote the legal documents that need to be filled out. They had no interest in making it easy for the layman to fill out the forms properly. This is why whenever you need to fill out the legal forms you need a little bit of help. When you review the LegalZoom reviews, youll see in many of the more complicated documents, you can get help in filling it out in the form of an interview or through the support provided by the support team. This is something that is included in the price you pay. Nolo provides static instructions to go along with the documents you download, according to Consumer Reports. This leaves you in charge of figuring out what questions you have and then finding out the answer to the question. Having someone on your side is the way to go since they know the problems youre going to face and can walk you through the process a lot faster and easier than you can do it on your own.

When youre trying to decide between LegalZoom and Nolo, you should pay attention to the awards the company has received. This is particularly important when the awards have been given from recognized sources you can trust to know what theyre looking for when it comes to rating sites. According to Knoji Consumer Knowledge, LegalZoomhas been awarded several awards in major press releases. This indicates the company has knowledge when it comes to such things as digital tools for entrepreneurs, business leadership tools and great legal forms. These are all areas in which LegalZoom has received awards for the services they provide. One of these awards was awarded by the National Law Journal, a respected law journal for lawyers throughout the United States of America. This is a significant accomplishment for a website bent on replacing lawyers services in favor of a digital service.

Legal Documents Developed by Attorneys

The team at LegalZoom has made sure to utilize the services of lawyers on staff to create and maintain the legal documents they offer to customers of the site, according to Top Consumer Reviews. These are the same legal professionals on hand whenever you have a question with how to fill out the documents in question. Even better, youre not the one in charge of filling out the document when you use these services. Instead, youre going to fill out the form online using the questionnaire and the team at LegalZoom will review the document before printing it and sending it to you. This way, youll have the assurance your document has been reviewed and approved by a team of lawyers before its ever sent to you so you can use it in a court of law. When you use Nolo, they simply allow you to download the documents and give you instructions on how to fill it out. You have no guarantee you did it right.

When it comes to anything, having a lot of experience in the field is a huge benefit. This is a major feather in the cap of LegalZoom. In business since 2001, it has been close to eight years longer than Nolo has been. Both have been listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since they were established and both have a reputation for distributing thousands oflegal documentsevery day, but when it comes to being established, LegalZoom simply has it won. The company has a reputation for not just being satisfied with being the first in the industry to offer these kinds of services. They are always looking for ways to improve their services so customers are getting the help they need to fill out legal documents and to save money rather than hiring lawyers. By this review, it would appear LegalZoom is the better choice when looking for legal documents over Nolo.

When readers purchase services discussed on our site, we often earn affiliate commissions that support our work.

When readers purchase services discussed on our site, we often earn affiliate commissions that support our work.

Using an online legal service likeLegalZoom is a reliable way to form an LLC, and its much less expensive than hiring a lawyer.

In this review, well go over the details of LegalZooms LLC formation service and explain how it compares toalternative services on the market. Read on to find out ifLegalZoom is the right choice for you.

LegalZoom offers a reliable, easy to use, and full-featured LLC formation service. Although, going with an established name like LegalZoom comes at higher cost. Incfile, for instance, provides a cheaper service that is just as reliable. Of course, the cheapest way to setup your LLC is to file it yourself using our free guide. First-time entrepreneurs who are worried about making mistakes forming their LLC will find LegalZooms services most appealing.

LegalZoom is ideal if you prefer to use a service with a brand name and dont mind paying premium prices. They are also one of the few services that allow you to create Professional LLCs (PLLCs).

A smooth, and relatively pain-free order process

Basic formation package includes a free operating agreement

Access to a wide range of products and services to help owners and managers navigate the legal challenges of starting and maintaining a business.

Ability to form a professional LLC (PLLC)

Cheaper than hiring a law firm to form your LLC

Above average prices relative to comparable online filing services

Slow order turn-around with the low-cost package (LegalZoom Economy)

Easy to accidentally sign up for expensive subscription services that auto-renew

Our recommended alternative to LegalZoom is Northwest.They provide great value and customer service,you can read our full review here.

Similar to most other LLC formation services, LegalZoom offers multiple tiers of service: Economy, Standard and Express Gold. In addition to forming your LLC, LegalZoom offers a broad range of premium and add-on services that business owners may find helpful.

LegalZoom doesnt rush economy orders. LegalZoom attempts to ship orders placed at this tier within 30 business days. Its important to note that this timing isnt guaranteed. In some states, such as California, economy orders may take even longer, after factoring in any secretary of state processing delays.

The economy package does not include the cost of shipping or government filing fees. State filing fees range from $50 and $250. The prices for shipping are:

Expect to pay $130 or more for an order placed within this tier.

Who should purchase LegalZoom Economy?

This package is suitable for customers who just want the essentials along with an operating agreement. Also, time should not be an issue for customers choosing this package as it may take 30 business days or more to arrive.

LegalZooms mid-tier package starts at $289, which is $140 more than the Economy Package.

LegalZoom standard includes the essentials of the Economy package,, plus a corporate kit. The corporate kit consists of:

A personalized binder for organizing essential company documents

A company seal to give your LLCs agreements and documents a more official appearance

20 member certificates customized with your companys information for other owners

LegalZoom Standard orders process ahead of Economy orders. Although not guaranteed, standard orders tend to ship within 15 business days but can take longer in the event of Secretary of State processing delays. Government filing and shipping fees are not included in this tier and are charged separately.

Expect to pay $380 or more to complete a LegalZoom Standard order.

Who should purchase LegalZoom Standard?

LegalZoom Standard includes all the essentials in the Economy package, plus some nice perks like a binder with your company name and a seal for official documents. The main benefit for this price tier is to get the documents faster than the Economy package would provide, but at a lower cost than the Express Gold tier.

LegalZooms Express Gold package starts at $349, which is $20 more than the Standard package and $270 more than the Economy package.

Express Gold includes 2-day shipping as the standard for the business documents and materials. Next business day shipping can be purchased at a discounted rate of $7.

State and government agencies also process Express Gold orders on an expedited basis. Expedited government filing fees are not included, and areoften $50 to $100 higher than standard state filing fees.

Expect to pay $400 or more to complete an Express Gold order.

Who should purchase LegalZoom Express Gold?

LegalZoom Gold is best suited for the individuals who need to have their LLC formed as soon as possible. From a cost-savings perspective, youre better off with a lower tier or a different service.

LegalZoom, unlike other LLC formation services, does not include many features bundled into their servicepackages. You can purchase the following features in addition to the package price for an additional cost:

Operating agreement, EIN, and a license search: $199

Registered agent service: $159/year, and unlike other services, this is not included for a free year

Overall, LegalZoom is one of the more expensive online business formation services. For our own LLC, we ordered the Economy package as we feel it represents the best value out of the three offered service levels.

We had a positive experience forming an LLC using LegalZoom. Although Economy orders are advertised as taking 30 business days to complete, LegalZoom managed to complete our order in just under two weeks without any errors or issues. On the other hand, we had a below average experience with LegalZoom customer support. Also, some features seem prone to charging customers for subscription services they may not actually want. This can make for an aggravating experience having to vigilantly opt-out of services during the ordering process.

The entire order process should take no longer than 15-20 minutes. In case you are unable to complete an order in one sitting, LegalZoom emails a link to your saved answers, giving you the option of completing your order at a later time.

Once your order goes through, LegalZoom mails you a package including all LLC formation documents, paper copies of your personalized operating agreement, and the personalized corporate kit if you ordered the Standard or Express Gold package.

The economy kit included the following:

LegalZoom may be a good option if you:

Want to work with an established brand to form your LLC

Are willing to a pay extra for better premium services and features

Are not in a rush to form your LLC or are willing to pay a considerable premium to expedite your order

Need to form a professional LLC (PLLC)

LegalZoom is ideal if you prefer to use a service with a brand name and dont mind paying premium prices. They are also one of the few services that allow you to create Professional LLCs (PLLCs).

Our recommended alternative to LegalZoom is Northwest.They provide great value and customer service,you can read our full review here.